Originally posted by Come-quickly
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As regards UNTSO , YES I am aware that its HQ is in Jerusalem and on a daily basis u will find guys from UNDOF there in their so many varieties of uniforms.
As regards the general UN thing, Yes the bigger countries have used and abused it but even when operations are not UN such as the Multi National Force in Beirut , they also got taken out and are often unable to defend themselves , again because often there is no political plan , sending in troops is the only thing they can think of, its posturing. THE multi national force , none of them knew why they were there and they became part of the problem. Oh by the way there was a British contingent and they left so hurriedly that they left an armored car behind they were in such a hurry to leave.
As regards Rwanda and the failure of the UN . It was not an entirely UN affair. The Canadian General had asked begged for more assistance , Kofi Annan , who was then Head of DPKO did nothing except BLAH and the countries/ organizations who could have done something , US, USSR, UK, NATO, AU did nothing, --memories of black hawk down etc. France well it was part of it. It could have been stopped by a Batt or two of aggressive well trained troops with the authority to knock heads if necessary could have been shipped in . As was the eventual case in Liberia. The irish were well armed , the potential “enemy “ had limited capacity and could be dealt with if necessary
I went in to Rwanda in May/ June 1994 from the TZ side , pvt job, lightly armed with a few” locals” from East Africa, looking for a group of foreigners with whom no contact had been made for some time. We managed to survive by being assertive, having good local knowledge assets with us , being armed so as we could defend ourselves but most importantly having a defined mission. We got in did the job and got out, If someone and there were loads of undisciplined, ganja , waraigi headed groups running around threatened us or wanted to take us on they knew that we would have taken them out as quickly as possible with no need to consult with any extended chain of command. So we survived, two weeks and then out..
Now back on topic,
The UNDOF mission is unnecessary and I see no national or even regional or international interest being served in putting Irish troops . Its just political posturing. Israel and probably the US are arming some and not others of the rebels in Syria.
As for the “ effectiveness “ of UNIFIL.
I am sure it does some good local work and provide a boost to the local economy but what exactly does or can it achieve in such a situation, and I will not say anymore in respect for the guys who were injured or killed there. Israel accuses it of acting as a screen for Hizbollah to arm itself, THE Leb army is a hotpotch of militias . ???
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